2.7.09

Vapiano

Vapiano
1800 M St. NW
Washington, DC
202.640.1868

After work, Alison and I met up for dinner at Vapiano on M St. I'm always a bit sketchy on Italian since I grew up with such great Italian cuisine. This is a German company, doing quick Italian salads, pasta and pizzas. I must admit I was surprised at the clean lines and the feel of the decor. Not your average chain restaurant with nice lighting and high wooden tables.

I quickly realized the menu is made up of 30 ingredients in various combinations. I was going to have the antipasti but decided against it because the ingredients were pretty much the same as the bruschetta pizza I wanted to order. The pizza was delicious. Neopolitan style, it was topped with tomato, mozzarella, arugula, basil, garlic, and parmesan. Alison had the insalata mista with chicken which had a plethora of vegetables and came with an excellent piece of bread.

We had a nice time at dinner then went off to Starbucks for dessert.

Vapiano has this interesting system where they hand you a card that you present at each station. Then when you go to leave, you present your card at the cashiers' station and you pay your total there. Apparently the price of losing your card is $50. One question: why not order $100 of food then "lose" the card and pay $50?

Overall: 79

Rating System:
95-100 World class, everything is outstanding from service to ambiance to wine list
88-94 Among the best and favorites.
80-87 Very good, at times outstanding, but could be inconsistent or not provide a total dining experience
70-79 Good. May surprise you at times, usually inexpensive and casual.
60-69 Decent. A good weeknight, quick dinner out. Nothing fancy, but gets the job done adequately.
Below 60 Not recommended